Frustrated by not being able to easily find farm auction listings on the Internet, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, farmer Dwayne Leslie created the www.FarmAuctionGuide.com Web site. He later joined forces with seven other industry-specific Web sites to form www.GlobalAuctionGuide.com. He shares advice for would-be auction buyers.

When the bid calling chant begins, are you the type of bidder that has your strategy completely planned out or are you the person that others refer to as someone who gets carried away with the moment when bidding begins? To be the successful highest bidder is easy. To get a bargain you need to have a plan in place well before the day of the sale.

1. Research the value of any item before you leave home. Call your local dealer, read ads in the paper, or do a search on an Internet site such as AgDealer.com. Also visit services like the F.A.C.T.s Report to access recent auction selling prices. This should give you a range for the piece of equipment you are planning on purchasing. Most of us have been to an auction where we've seen a buyer pay more for a 2 - 3 year old item than it would cost new. The best way to prevent this is by setting a value before you leave home and then adjusting it when you have inspected it for condition at the sale.

2. Study the auctioneer. A lot of people have told us that before they start bidding, they watch the auctioneers in action to see his technique and how he works, they all have different styles of selling. Watch to see how he starts the bidding, is it initially high and dropped until he gets a bid, or low to get the sale started and to gain momentum. Be careful, if you let it drop too low, someone else may get interested and join the fray. Many auctioneers have a policy that if no one will open the bidding they will place the first bid to speed things up. Everyone has a different bidding style. Do you start the bidding and continue fast and aggressively to show determination and to deter competition or wait until near the end and then jump in to dishearten any remaining bidders. I've seen buyers wait until the very end and win with their only bid, and others open the bidding and purchase the item. Do you bid slowly to give your opponent time to think about how much he is paying or enter the ring quickly and decisively at the end with a couple of fast bids. Auctioneers certainly appreciate the bidders who step forward and quickly get things moving.

3. Position yourself. Many people stand in front of the equipment in good view of the auctioneers and other bidders to show enthusiasm and to discourage neighbors form bidding against them. Or do you stay in the crowd out of view and bid through a ring person to stay anonymous until the end, so no one knows who is buying. Who do you watch whilst bidding, the auctioneers to make sure he doesn't miss your bid or your opponent to psyche him out.

4. Know when to hold, when to fold. Everybody agrees on one strategy. If the price is too high don't bid at all!

5. Enjoy the show.. Part of the attraction of an auction is that people enjoy the challenge of competing for that elusive bargain and the entertainment of watching the day's action.

Internet iron

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